Spotlight

Writers Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (who also directed) tell the story of the Boston Globe's Pulitzer-winning investigation into the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and the cover-up by the Archdiocese of Boston. The movie is a self-conscious throwback to crusading-reporter flicks of the past, but it's also a taut story well-told, suspenseful despite the fact that the world knows how it all turned out, and energized by an authentic sense of the dogged research and footwork at the heart of serious investigative journalism. Of course, the stellar cast is a major asset: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Brian d'Arcy James as the Globe's team of reporters, John Slattery and Liev Schreiber as their editors, plus Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and Jamey Sheridan in major support. J.L.